Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The successor to the surprise hit of 2011 is now official as Samsung unveils the Galaxy Note II. Like the behemoth phone before it, the Note II continues the "phablet" segment of the smartphone market. But this time around it probably will not be counted out by reviewers as the past version did. The Note II is in many ways a larger Galaxy S III, sporting a bigger 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display (sans-PenTile) at 720p resolution, 1.6GHz Exynos processor, 2GM of RAM, 16/32/64GB of internal storage, 3100mAh battery, NFC capabilities, improved S Pen capabilities and best of all comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.

Available colors will be Mountain White and Titanium Gray. MicroSD card expansion is also in tow. What is a bit odd is that the Note II sports a lower pixel destiny than the original Note but uses a non-PenTile display which should alleviate the issue.

Also, at the unveiling, Samsung also confirmed that the Note 10.1 and Galaxy S III "very soon". Not quite the August 29th we expected but we'll take it. Surprisingly, the original Note wasn't mentioned by name but was put up on the Jelly Bean slide with the Note 10.1 and Galaxy S III.

No word on Canadian availability, but we expect it to hit Canadian shelves relatively soon after the global launch.

“Last year at IFA, we launched the
GALAXY Note, which opened a new category of smart mobile devices. This year,
again at IFA, I am proud to announce the GALAXY Note II, which
will encourage
users to 'unleash theirinner creativity.’With a perfect viewing experience
andunique and differentiatedfeatures, users candiscoverinformation
andcapture their
ideas faster, expressthoughts freely
andmanage tasksmore efficiently. For anyone who wants to be creative, expressive
and unique, the Samsung GALAXY Note II will be the ideal device,allowing
users to live a life extraordinary,” said JK Shin, President of
IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

Since
the first introduction of the GALAXY Note category, Samsung has continued to
enhance and expand the GALAXY Note product experiences. In May 2012, Samsung
introduced ‘Premium Suite,’a software upgrade which providedenhanced user
experiences. With the Ice Cream Sandwich OS upgrade, Samsung offered innovative
new features such as Shape Match and Formula Match, providing a new way for
organizing and expressing ideas in their personal and professional life. Also
inAugust, Samsung expanded the categoryfurther with the GALAXY Note 10.1, which
has a 10.1-inch large screen, a Multiscreen feature for the ultimate
multitasking,and enhanced features for users’ productivity, creativity and
learning abilities. With further enhancements, Samsung GALAXY Note II will help
usersunleash their inner creativity by letting them discover information
faster, capture ideas, and express them in a more organized and efficient
manner.

Perfectviewing experience

The GALAXY Note II features a 5.5”(140.9mm)HD
Super
AMOLED screen,
providing breathtaking visuals and
crystal clear detail. Its 16:9 screen ratio ensures an
immersive and enriched cinema-like
videoviewingexperience,
perfect for watching HD videos on-the-go. Its larger screen allows users to see
content clearly and vividly, with much enhanced readability. In addition to the
stunning content consumption experiences on a larger screen, users will also be
able to accomplishmore tasks efficiently and create content freely on-the-go,
as theGALAXY Note II comes with a thinner and portable body.

Easy multitasking

Air
View
allows users
to hover with the S
Pen over an email, S Planner,
image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search
and see more information in one view without screen transitions.

Thanks to the breadth of the GALAXY Note II’s
amazing viewing experience,
a feature called Popup Noteextends
the concept of Popup Play, whichlets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up
window anywhere on the screen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen
during a phone call, the S Note application automatically pops up on the screen,
allowing users to jot downa quick note.

In
addition, the device’s new gesture
pad
feature, called Quick Command,lets
users quickly activate
frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just
swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly
send an email, make a call, or search a location as they draw pre-registered
marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy
access.

Furthermore,
users will be able to share their experiences with others quickly and easily
using Screen Recorder. Itallows users to record a whole
sequence of actions takenon
their screen— a demonstration of how to use an application, for example—and
then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.

Amazing expression tools - Advanced S Pen&
S Note

The new S Pen is longer, thicker and
ergonomically designed for the perfect grip. Therefore, it provides a more
precise, comfortable,
and natural writing
and drawing experience.

The S Pen’s advanced features alsoprovide
enhanced capabilities to capture ideas
and inspirations instantly,andto combine handwriting with any digital
content directly on
the screen. By simply pressing the dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically
recognizes that users want to clip or
edit the selected content on the screen. The Easy Clipfeatureallows users to instantly outline and crop
any content on the
screen in any shapeto save, share or paste.
Once done cropping the image, users can freely edit the cropped contentthrough coloring, shading, or their own personal
handwriting.It is quick and easy.

Another amazing expression feature calledIdea Visualizerallows users toeasily add
illustrationsby handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration
images that match the handwritten keywords. It’s a fancy illustration match
function that will allow users to express, organize and visualize ideas in a
more innovative and creative way. Userscan even customize and add in their own
illustrations library.

The
GALAXY Note IIcomes with an 8 megapixel rear-facing and 1.9 megapixel
front-facing camera with HD video recording. The camera has great features like
Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot and Best Photo, which were introduced on the
GALAXY S III earlier in the year. In addition to that, the GALAXY Note II
features a unique camera function called Best
Faces. Best Faces allows users to choose the most preferred face or pose of
each person from group portrait photos. Users can also personalize photos by
leaving handwritten notes on the backside of a photo using the S Pen.
Handwritten Photo Notes can be shared with others in jpg format.

Available in Marble White orTitanium Gray
color options, the Samsung GALAXY Note II is set to launch in October starting in
major European,Asian, and Middle East markets.

The Samsung GALAXY Note II will be on
display at the Samsung booth #
20 at IFA 2012 fromAug 31 through Sep5.For more information on
GALAXY Note II,
please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com.